


a birthday

by kingdomdizzy



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Happy Birthday Sora, KH3 spoilers, Not really a story, Post-Canon, just a little drabble, post-kh3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-26 00:43:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18272339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingdomdizzy/pseuds/kingdomdizzy
Summary: Everyone was here for a birthday party.Everyone, except for whom the birthday was for.// happy 17th birthday, sora





	a birthday

Embers escaped from the fire into the air, mixing with the stars until no one could distinguish what was real and what was fake. That was how it had been since the end. 

It seemed that everything had been done; Kingdom Hearts was closed, locked, and Xehanort had found his place with his old friend among the light. The long lost and troubled children sat under the night sky, listening to the waves that washed against the sand. The moon was full and cast a faint glow on them. This was the second time they had all been together since the end. Everyone was here, on the beach of Destiny Islands, for a birthday party. 

Everyone, except for whom the birthday was for. 

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were on a log off to the side, eating their ice cream. They all stared absently into the fire, not knowing anything to say to break the silence that surrounded the small flames Axel had made. Olette occasionally wiped her eyes quickly with the back of her hand. Hayner’s eyes, too, would occasionally fill with tears, but he squeezed his eyes shut until they disappeared. Pence was on his phone; sometimes they asked what he was doing, but even the statement ‘trying to find a solution’ couldn’t bring about the thought of relief. 

Axel was cross-legged in the sand, spinning the flames with his fingers and making shapes as sparks popped into the air. His eyebrows were furrowed. Occasionally, he would clench his fists and cause the fire to grow and spread a wave of heat around the circle. _What an icky job,_ he thought, and continued painting with fire. Xion was next to him, watching his actions carefully and huddling closer into herself to stay warm. In her head, she was begging and pleading to find any connection remnant that was left, anything that could help find him. But everything was still, and she began to silently cry. She had thought that becoming her own person would be the most wonderful thing that could happen, but now her thoughts seemed too empty, and the warmth she had felt so close before was now far, far away. At this thought, she looked around for Roxas. 

Behind them, in the cold shadows of the island, Roxas was pacing back and forth in the sand. His hands anxiously flew from his sides to his head to fists to punching the air relentlessly then back to his side. Anger seethed off of him; his teeth were barred, grinding harshly against each other, and tears uncontrollably fell down his cheeks. He would sometimes glance over at the fire to make sure he wasn’t causing a distraction, then get angry again. _This was supposed to be for him,_ he thought. His knees caved from underneath him and he collapsed into the sand, pounding the ground and feeling another small wave of heat from the fire. 

Naminé watched him sadly from the roof of the shack leading to the bridge. She was cold, but just being slightly higher off the ground gave her a better view of the stars. The pages of her sketchbook rustled slightly in the wind. Her thumb held them down as she continued sketching out a constellation that caught her eye, carefully tracing the lines together to create a familiar crown shape echoing through the sky. A small smile formed on her lips. Her connection had become significantly weaker, but she felt _something,_ and to her, that was enough. The wind flipped a page over, revealing another constellation that she had found. It was a symbol she had never seen before but remembered it as important. She glanced down at the fire, at the three figures huddled together on a log that had been lost for so long, and knew it had to do with them.

Aqua was slowly drawing and erasing shapes in the sand, swaying in time with the waves. Terra just watched her, smiling in the dim light at how beautiful she was, even with tears in her eyes. Ventus was leaned back and looking up at the sky, something he seemed to do often ever since he came back. His eyes moved quickly from each light to the next, looking for something. What it was, even he didn’t know, but he was hoping that something would appear. Nothing. With growing frustration, he sat forward and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the small party hat that was sitting on the other side of the sand that had somehow not been knocked over by the wind. His felt a tightness in his chest and Aqua began to sob next to him. 

The sudden noise caused Kairi to look back from her spot on the paopu tree. At the sight of Terra and Ven comforting Aqua, she looked back out at the water. Her hand was resting on the tree at her side, just like it had been when he disappeared. She remembered the small squeeze he gave her as tears rolled down her face. His words were fuzzy in her head, and she hated herself for not being able to remember them. A sudden spike of pain shot through her back, causing her hand to crinkle the party hat she held in her hand. The pain from Xehanort’s strike still hadn’t gone away, even through her return. Tears welled in her eyes. Her grip on the party hat lessened and she looked down at it with disdain. An image of Sora wearing it on his last birthday flew into her mind; his smile was bright, his laugh was pure, and he was as happy as he always was. Kairi guessed that wherever he was, he was still smiling. 

A bright flash from the horizon lit the island momentarily. Kairi’s head shot up, more pain going down her back, and jumped from the tree and started running. 

Everyone else on the beach looked up at the sudden flash, too. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus all stood up, Xion following quickly after and the bonfire growing another foot as Axel clenched his fists. Roxas looked up, knees still in the sand, and stared at the ocean through his tears. The wind blew a blank page open in Naminé’s sketchbook as she gazed back up at the sky. Pence’s ice cream, melted from the fire, fell onto the sand as Hayner and Olette both turned their heads. 

Riku had seen the whole thing. He was standing in the ocean, the water up to his knees. The flash was bright enough for him to block his eyes, but he knew what had been there. The party hat he had been holding was resting on the sand behind him, safe from the waves. _There should be a cake,_ he thought bitterly, _gifts, laughter. Not this._

It was Sora’s birthday, and he wasn’t even here. 

Riku started to take a step further into the water when a hand grabbed his wrist. He whipped around and his eyes landed on Kairi. Her face was determined, the party hat still in her hands. Everyone on the beach was watching them silently with only the sound of the growing wind, breaking waves, and popping coals. Kairi’s grip tightened, and Riku could see the red in her eyes. With a soft breath, he relaxed and nodded at her, then turned to the light growing slowly on the horizon.

“We’ll go together.”


End file.
